LEXINGTON, Ky. (NEWS10) — A new industry-led effort in the sport of horse racing has been announced to help better protect the safety of both the animals and human athletes alike.

The nation’s top Thoroughbred racing organizations have come together to form The Thoroughbred Safety Coalition group. The group aims to create and implement a series of important safety, medication, operational and integrity based guidelines across all Thoroughbred racing to help protect the health and safety of horses and jockeys.

The group is comprised of notable founding organizations including the Breeders’ Cup Limited, Churchill Downs Inc., Keeneland Association Inc., the New York Racing Association Inc. (NYRA), Del Mar Thoroughbred Club and The Stronach Group. Collectively, these organizations represent more than 85 percent of Thoroughbred horse racing.

Together, these organizations have worked to modernizing the sport and advocate for better safety measures through increased transparency and accountability.

“The Thoroughbred Safety Coalition presents an opportunity for the sport to adopt a set of best practices with a unified approach to equine safety,” said David O’Rourke, CEO and President of NYRA. “We look forward to advancing these efforts, communicating directly with the public and broadening the coalition in the coming weeks and months.”

Through the coalition’s efforts, stricter guidelines are being set to promote the best practices and create new positions to help enforce these reforms.

For a full list of these reforms click here. For additional information about the Thoroughbred Safety Coalition visit their website here.